488 



FOREST AND STREAM 



SUPPLEMENT. 



[Jan. 9, lBfcO. 



bright metal, or a pearl or bone 

 squid answers just as wells for troll- 

 ing as the pork-rind, but is neither 

 so cheap nor convenient for the 

 'conch' fisherman of Key West." 



The Kingfish ( Seomberomorus 

 cavalla). — This is also the silver cero 

 and kingfish. 



The kingfish abounds in the West 

 Indies and ranges southward to Bra- 

 zil. It is very common about the 

 Florida keys. On the east coast in- 

 dividuals are occasionally taken as 

 far north as Cape Cod. 



The species is a powerful and swift 

 forager at sea in company with the 

 cero and Spanish mackerel. It preys 

 on other fishes and is caught in great 

 numbers at the surface by trolling. 



This is the largest species of its 

 genus, attaining a weight of Solbs. 

 Concerning its reproduction and 



growth nothing seems to be on record. --As has just been mentioned, this is a larger 

 species than the others of the Spanish mackerel group, and is nearly as good for food. 

 It is caught by trolling along the Florida keys with hand line and pork-rind bait, 

 as mentioned in fishing for cero. A 

 large fleet of fishing smacks is en- 

 gaged in its capture, but the angling 

 for this fine fish by regular and or- 

 thodox methods, with rod and reel, 

 is yet to be developed, as I have no 

 doubt it will be in the near future, 

 for some piscatorial Alexander, sigh- 

 ing for new worlds to conquer, will 

 be sure to find it. 



"As a game fish the kingfish is sec- 

 ond to none, being built for extra- 

 ordinary bursts of speed, and leaps 

 higher than any other fish, I believe, 

 that swims. Its graceful form is 

 spindle-shaped, very regular in outline, with small, conical head and wide mouth — a 

 slender, keeled caudal peduncle, and a large, powerful, crescentic caudal fin— ju^t the 

 shape for quick and agile movement?. 



I have frequently seen it leap fully / V 



10ft. above the water. It is even better ffi/ / 



built for speed and leaping than the 

 salmon, and among other fishes is as 

 the Puritan or Volunteer among a 

 fleet of oyster boats. 



"I have taken several on the rod, 

 off the keys near Bahia Honda, with 

 pilchard bait, and venture the pre- 

 diction that when its habits become 

 better known it will some day rank 

 higher, as a game fish, than ail other 

 coast fishes in Florida. I have no 

 doubt that it will rise to the arti- 

 ficial fly, though I have never tried 

 it, but I once took one on the bunch 

 of feathers usually attached to a 

 trolling spoon, by trolling with it after the spoon had been broken off." 



The Cavalli (Caraiuv hipgos)*— This handsome and active fish has various names, 

 depending on locality. About Cape /// 

 Cod it is confounded with a related IL 

 species, the yellow mackerel. The. /'///A. 

 best-known name is crevalle: other 

 appellations are horse crevalle and 

 cavalla. 



The cavalli abounds in the Gulf of 

 Mexico and East Florida. It occurs 

 throughout the West Indies. North- 

 ward its range includes Cape Cope, 

 and rarely it is extended still fur- 

 ther. H. S. Williams considered the 

 south end of Merritt's Island and the 

 inlets opposite old Fort Capron to be 

 centers of abundance of this fish. 

 Clarke took it freely at Indian River 

 Inlet. Jordan records it as common 

 in Lake Pontchartrain. The same 

 form is credited to the Pacific coast from Panama to the Gulf of California. The 

 cavalli is a fish of prey, and one of the swiftest, moving in schools near the surface. 

 It feeds in shallow water near the 

 shore. There is a migration north- 

 ward in summer, and the young 

 especially move along frequently to 

 Cape Cod in moderately large num- 

 bers. Great Egg Harbor is a favorite 

 resort for small individuals in sum- 

 mer. In two examples, from 4 to 

 6$m, long, taken at Ocean City and 

 Longport late in August, we heard a 

 very distinct croaking sound when 

 the fish were held in the hands, but 

 could not determine how it was pro- 

 duced. 



In the Gulf of Mexico the cavalli 

 feeds principally on the mullet and 

 the menhaden, but there is a be- 

 wildering variety of other small 

 fishes which will answer its purpose 



The Pompano (Trachi/not.us carolmus). 



The Sea Trout or Weakfish (Vynoscion maculatum). 



The Whiting or Kingfish (Menticirrus americanus). 



The Redfish (Sciccna ocellafa) . 



The Red Snapper {Lutjanus blackfordii). 



equally well. The size is large, indi- 

 viduals weighing SOIbs. being re- 

 ported; such a fish would measure 

 3ft. or more. The young of about a 

 pound are considered very fine for 

 the table: large ones are dark and 

 insipid. 



Stearns observed that the cavalli 

 arrives on the West Florida coast 

 in May containing mature eggs, and 

 believed that it spawns in the salt- 

 water bayous. He saw the young 

 come out of such places in the fall 

 and move seaward. 



"The cavalli and its allied forms 

 are good game fishes, and respond 

 eagerly to the angler's lures, whether 

 artificial fly, bait, trolling-spoon, or 

 a bit of white or red rag. It makes 

 a very strong and determined re- 

 sistance when hooked, and always 

 fights to the last gasp. It is, more- 

 over, an exceedingly beautiful and gracefully -formed fish, but being so common 

 and so easily captured, its merits are often overlooked." 

 "For bait-fishing, heavy black bass or light striped bass rods, or the Little Giant 



rod, are all suitable, with multiply- 

 ing reel, E line, Sproat hooks, 2-0,. 

 and sinkers adapted to the strength 

 of the tidal currents, or if in shel- 

 tered, quiet waters, the lightest 

 sinker should be used. 



"Any small fish makes a good bait, 

 or shrimp may be used— fishing from 

 the sand spits and shores of inlets on. 

 the flood tide or from an anchored 

 boat. Trolling with the spoon , bright 

 squid, pork-rind or bit of white rag 

 is more successful than sportsman- 

 like. The cavalli will rise satisfac- 

 torily to a medium-sized, gay-!inted 

 fly of almost any color, and it is by all odds the fittest and most desirable method 

 of fishing for the cavalli and its kindred. In bait-fishing or fly-fishing for 



cavalli near the inlets and pas es the 

 angler will often take the 'lady,' or 

 'bonefish,' and the Hen-pounder,' both 

 of which are game to the backbone,, 

 and fight as well in the air as in the 

 water. They are long, slender and 

 round, spindle-shaped fishes, belong- 

 ing to the herring family, and are as 

 gracefully-formed and as bright and 

 silvery in appearance, and when fast 

 to the angler's hook fly through the 

 air and water like animated silver 

 shuttles. They run from one to- 

 three pounds usually. I consider 

 the Madyfish' to be the gamiest fish 

 of salt water in proportion to its- 

 size/' 



The Pompano (Trachynotus caro- 

 linus).— The name of this delicious species is corrupted into pompynose on seme 

 parts of the Gulf coast. The Cubans style it palometa. The common poinpano is found 



at the Bermudas, in the West Indies, 

 northward in summer on our coast 

 to Cape Cod. southward to the Gulf 

 ^;$f^$^ > of Mexico at least. It has been re- 



^ ■ ported in the Gulf of California by 



Prof. C. H. Gilbert. In Florida, ac- 

 cording to Dr. Henshall, "it is very 

 abundant on the west coast, about 

 Charlotte Harbor, and on the east 

 coast at Jupiter Inlet and Lake 

 Worth." 



The species is migratory, and the 

 number on our northern coast flue- 

 tuates greatly. The young are more 

 confirmed travelers than the adults; 

 they come north in force during 

 some seasons, and again may scarcely 

 be found at all in localities in which 

 they have appeared in abundance. It loves warm waters and frequents sandy 

 coves. On the south Florida coast, according to Stearns, it is a permanent resident^ 



It comes on the coast at Pensacola 

 from the eastward in spring in 

 schools containing from fifty indi- 

 viduals to several thousands, swim- 

 ming near the shore, but seldom at 

 the surface. Its favorite feeding 

 grounds are holes and gullies in 

 sandy beaches, where it finds shells- 

 and sand flies. Dr. Henshail writes 

 concerning it as follows: "It feeds 

 principally on the 'pompano sbe!],* 

 a very small and beautiful bivalve 

 that is very abundant on the sea 

 beaches of the localities named. It 

 is fond also of beach fleas." Stearns 

 mentions the spa beach from Tampa 

 Bay to Charlotte Harbor as probably 

 the favorite ground for pompano, 

 because of the abundance of shell- 



